Posts Tagged ‘corruption’

Concerned Petaluman Documents Police Excess and Failure

Friday, July 16th, 2010

originally published at www.watchsonomacounty.com

Petaluma crusader wants an honest town

BY LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

John Hanania is on a crusade.

Yet another crusade, his critics say.

The Petaluma resident has been hounding city leaders for two years about what he calls a double standard in the Police Department’s enforcement of illegally tinted vehicle windows.

At the same time regular motorists are cited for the traffic infraction, several Police Department employees flout the law, driving their personal vehicles with after-market darkened front windows, he said.

“It’s not right,” he said recently just outside the department’s fenced parking lot, where several vehicles sported dimmed front windows in violation of the state’s vehicle code.

Hanania can point out multiple violations on city employees’ personal vehicles: lack of a front license plate, covered plates, missing mud flaps and more.

“Why is it that they allow this stuff to continue without tickets when they give the public citations?” he said. “I don’t like abuse of power.”

For the past few months, Hanania has engaged in a written back-and-forth with interim police Chief Danny Fish about his complaints. He has spoken at City Council meetings, called the city manager and met with police on several occasions. He has met with city council members dozens of times over the years.

Capt. Dave Sears said last week that his department has given its employees a deadline to fix their vehicles. No one has been cited.

“It’s a minor infraction. Our people who had those vehicles not in compliance, we asked them to take care of it,” he said. “Most of them have gotten it fixed. Some need some time.”

Sears said officers often give citizens a warning for violating the statute, which says the front driver’s and passenger windows cannot be covered by any film. Nine motorists were cited for the violation in March and April.

This battle isn’t the first for Hanania. His quarrels with the way the city does business go back at least 16 years, through more than half a dozen city managers and police chiefs.

In 1994, he fought a traffic ticket he got for what police said was an illegal left turn. He won in court and it sparked Hanania’s indignation.

In 1997 and 1998, he stood up against a proposal to install surveillance cameras in downtown’s Putnam Plaza, arguing the move was unfair to teenagers. The city increased police patrols but declined to put up cameras.

In 2003, he led a crusade against junked cars, recreational vehicles, boats and trailers being left on city streets past the three-day limit. The City Council voted twice to tighten enforcement of such eyesores.

Hanania also has been the target of police action. Disagreements with a neighbor led to vehicles owned by both families being towed, although Hanania maintains his were towed improperly.

Hanania filed a small claims lawsuit against the city on May 3, demanding the towing fees be returned. He parks several vehicles in the cul-de-sac where he lives and tries to move the vehicles around before they are ticketed, he said.

Some city employees say privately that his latest complaints are an effort to pressure the city to refund the towing fees. Hanania has filed a series of Public Records Act requests seeking police records on citations, among other things.

“I have a great deal of respect for a lot of the police,” he said. “But what they are doing isn’t right.”

One city councilman has come under Hanania’s fire. He said the front windows of Mike Harris’ car have been modified. Harris said he doesn’t know if they are illegally tinted.

“I have no idea,” he said. “I’m not a car guy. If they are, I’ll have them checked and have them fixed.

“I’ve spoken to John probably 50 times in the last seven years I’ve been on the council. John is a good guy and I enjoy my discussions with him,” Harris said. He declined to comment further because of the recent claim against the city. The small claims suit is scheduled for a hearing next month.

Tags: , ,
Posted in PACH, Police Abuse, Police in the Local Media | No Comments »

Former Santa Rosa Police Captain Still Suing For Wrongful Termination

Sunday, May 2nd, 2010

Judge rules against ex-Santa Rosa police captain

By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Saturday, May 1, 2010 at 8:21 p.m.

A federal judge has dismissed a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by a former Santa Rosa police captain and ordered him to pay the city’s legal costs for fighting the allegations in the case.

Northern District Judge Susan Illston pre-empted a hearing that was set for Friday to discuss the city’s motion to dismiss Jamie Mitchel’s suit. Instead, she issued a ruling at the beginning of the week dismissing the remaining portions of the case. An earlier ruling denied other aspects of the claim.

After the ruling, Mitchel’s attorney filed a request for reconsideration because the state Supreme Court ruling upon which Illston based her order was partially overturned this week. Illston hadn’t ruled on the request by late Friday.

Mitchel said Friday if a reconsideration isn’t granted, he will appeal the case to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Santa Rosa City Attorney Caroline Fowler estimated the legal fees amount to $75,000 to $100,000.

Mitchel, 55, was fired in May 2008 during a tumultuous period for the Police Department. Several employees filed complaints with the city alleging gender discrimination, harassment and retaliation by then-police Chief Ed Flint. All four complaints named Flint and two named Mitchel, Flint’s second-in-command.

Flint was forced out, Mitchel was fired and the city paid the six complainants a total of more than $120,000 to resolve their grievances. No lawsuits were filed by the employees, some of whom no longer work for the city.

Mitchel then sued the city, saying he was improperly dismissed, his privacy rights were violated, he was discriminated against because he is a white man and that his arbitration hearing was improperly handled.

In seeking a dismissal, the city also sought monetary and procedural sanctions against Mitchel and his attorney, Scott Lewis of Santa Rosa, for what it called unsupported accusations and frivolous arguments.

Illston had harsh words for Mitchel, but didn’t award additional sanctions beyond attorney fees.

“The court agrees with the city that some of the plaintiff’s and Mr. Lewis’ conduct is sufficiently serious to warrant sanctions,” the ruling said. “The court does not believe it is appropriate to impose a monetary penalty.”

Illston awarded attorneys fees because as a police officer, Mitchel had agreed to binding arbitration of his dispute with the city. But in his reconsideration request, Lewis noted the recent high court case, which allows new hearings if there are procedural problems with the original arbitration hearing.

“Mr. Mitchel respectfully disagrees with the court’s ruling and it is subject to review on appeal,” he said. “He will not litigate this matter in the paper.”

The case has been expensive for both sides.

Santa Rosa’s legal bill for costs related to Mitchel’s termination is nearing a million dollars. As of last summer, the most recent accounting available, the cases, including Mitchel’s firing, Flint’s forced departure and damage repair within the Police Department, has cost the city more than $840,000.

Mitchel has said the city is pushing him to financial ruin. Still, he said, he intends to keep fighting.

“This is actually a David vs. Goliath case. It’s me, who is fighting the giant, the city of Santa Rosa, who has unlimited funds,” he said.

“I have limited resources and I’m trying to do the best I can to get the truth out.”

The city is set to file its documentation for attorneys’ fees by May 14. Mitchel has a week to respond.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in PACH, Police Abuse, Police in the Local Media | No Comments »

Petaluma Police Offer to Take Over Cotati Policing, Petaluma City Council Says No

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

Cotati declines Petaluma’s non-offer for police service

By LORI A. CARTER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 5:59 p.m.

A county taxpayers group is urging Cotati voters to reject a sales-tax measure on the ballot next week, noting that Petaluma’s offer to take over police services would save Cotati nearly $1 million a year.

The problem is, the proposal no longer is on the table, and probably never should have been, say Petaluma officials.

And in a further sign of confusion, Cotati city leaders didn’t know untiklcontacted by a reporter that Petaluma’s proposal, presented to them Feb. 3, was no longer valid.

Petaluma city leaders describe the proposal — which wasn’t approved by the city manager or city council before it was submitted to Cotati — as preliminary and unrealistic given Petaluma’s dire financial straits.

“The council didn’t authorize it and it’s not a proposal we’re entertaining,” Petaluma Mayor Pam Torliatt said this week, who said she first heard of it after the Cotati council discussed it in a public meeting.

With a looming budget deficit, Cotati has declared a state of fiscal emergency and is asking voters to approve a 0.5 percent city sales tax. That would bring the total in the city to 9.5 percent, which would be the highest in the county.

According to the city, the measure would generate $600,000 to $900,000 a year, allowing the city to eliminate its deficit, “prevent potential elimination of the police department,” restore some services and staff and build reserves.

In late January, the city sought proposals for contracting its police services to save money. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office and Petaluma police submitted proposals, which were presented to the council on Feb. 3.

The county said it could save Cotati $29,000 a year by providing policing services, which it does for the cities of Sonoma and Windsor. Petaluma said it could do the job for $1.6 million, compared with Cotati’s current $2.5 million police budget.

Cotati council members decided the level of coverage Petaluma proposed wasn’t desirable, City Manager Dianne Thompson said, so it has decided to pursue contracting only its dispatching services if Measure A fails at the ballot box on Tuesday(April 13).

But the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association has urged voters to reject the Measure A, contending that the contract with Petaluma would solve Cotati’s budget woes without the tax.

Fred Levin of the taxpayers group also wasn’t aware that Petaluma’s proposal was no longer an option.

“It’s very strange that all of a sudden the city of Petaluma, which is also in need of financial help, took it off the table,” he said. “I think there’s more to this that meets the eye.”

Petaluma City Manager John Brown said police Chief Dan Fish and his command staff responded to Cotati’s contracting request under a deadline that didn’t provide enough time to brief him or the council.

Fish said the proposal was only a draft and the “rough numbers” should only have been perceived as “what-ifs” in a potential worst-case scenario for Cotati.

Brown said the proposal — which suggested Petaluma could handle the addition Cotati’s policing needs without increasing staffing levels — was premature and inaccurate.

“It did get out of ahead of us,” he said. “It’s not the way it would normally be handled.”

According to Cotati documents, the proposal would have provided Cotati with 2 full-time officers 24 hours a day, however they would not have been dedicated solely to Cotati.

Cotati Mayor Robert Coleman-Senghor learned this week that Petaluma’s council wasn’t aware of the proposal before it went to Cotati. “When we have relations with another agency . . . I want to know about that,” he said. “I would have been super-peeved, to say the least.”

Both he and Petaluma’s city manager, Brown, said despite the missteps, they don’t want to discourage cost-sharing efforts.

“We learn from these episodes in our lives,” Brown said. “We will do things differently it the future.”

Petaluma Councilman Mike Healy agreed: “Going forward, at least on the bigger things like this, the council and city manager need to be in the loop. The most important thing now is folks in Cotati shouldn’t be under the impression that it’s an option.”

Cotati leaders said if Measure A fails they will pursue contracting dispatch services, not law enforcement, probably with the sheriff.

The sheriff’s contracting proposal, along with the layoff of an additional Cotati police officer, could save Cotati $135,000 a year for reduced dispatch, font counter and records duties.

You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 762-7297 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com.

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in PACH | No Comments »

Lake County Sheriff Investigates Challenger

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Lake County sheriff candidate target of internal investigation

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Monday, April 5, 2010 at 5:17 p.m.

A candidate for Lake County sheriff is crying foul over an internal investigation launched six weeks before voters decide who should run the department, which is under siege in part by allegations he has brought.

“This is dirty politics at its worst,” said Francisco Rivero, a Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy who has been engaged in a bitter battle with incumbent Sheriff Rodney Mitchell since last year when Rivero publicly accused the department of racial discrimination, cronyism and mismanagement.

Rivero said he could lose his job for talking about the investigation of him.

“What’s wrong is for them to silence me. The public has the right to know that someone running has been brought up on charges of sexual battery,” he said. Allegations of “excessive use of force and gender profiling” also are part of the investigation, he said.

Rivero disclosed the allegations at a press conference Monday. He said he feared someone within the department would leak the information if he did not announce it himself.

Mitchell said it’s unlikely anyone outside the department would ever have known about the investigation. “He alone chose to make this a public issue,” Mitchell said. “This is just another one of Rivero’s shenanigans,” Mitchell said.

The Sheriff’s Office by law must investigate deputies who are accused of criminal violations, even if the department believes they’re unwarranted, Mitchell said. The same goes for all Sheriff’s departments, said Mendocino County Sheriff’s Capt. Kurt Smallcomb. It’s also protocol to order those involved not to discuss the investigation, he said.

A woman arrested in December 2008 on suspicion of domestic assault brought the complaint against Rivero in January, said Victor Haltom, Rivero’s attorney. The investigation wasn’t formally begun until the officer in charge of internal investigations returned from Haiti, he said.

Haltom said a cursory investigation into the allegations would have vindicated Rivero.

Smallcomb, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s captain, said such allegations must be both criminally and internally investigated.

Haltom contended the investigation is wrong and typical of the department. “They operate like a bunch of crude cowboys,” he said.

Haltom also has clashed with the Lake County law authorities on behalf of Bismarck Dinius, a client charged with boating under the influence and manslaughter after a speedboat driven by a Lake County deputy slammed into the sailboat he was steering, killing a passenger.

The manslaughter charge was dropped before trial and a jury acquitted Dinius of the lesser charge of causing great bodily injury or death while under the influence.

The case angered boaters across the nation and local residents, who thought the speedboat driver, Lake County Chief Deputy Russell Perdock, should have been charged.

The District Attorney’s Office was the agency that made that decision, Mitchell said.

Mitchell has posted on the department’s web site, www.lakesheriff.com, detailed rebuttals to Rivero’s allegations of racial discrimination and mismanagement, which he said are false.

Other issues in the department include a lieutenant, now demoted to sergeant, who apparently used marijuana eradication funding for helicopter lessons and a former corrections deputy who is charged with stealing an automatic trigger mechanism from the Sheriff’s Office armory.

Tags: ,
Posted in Police in the Local Media | No Comments »

Lake County Deputy Charged with Theft

Tuesday, April 6th, 2010

Leak of Lake County sheriff’s report probed
Investigation, theft come in run-up to June election

By GLENDA ANDERSON
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Tuesday, March 16, 2010 at 4:03 a.m.

Another Lake County deputy is under investigation, adding fuel to the internal fires in the troubled department as Sheriff Rod Mitchell faces his first re-election challenge in 16 years.

Deputy Mike Morshed is being investigated in connection with the unauthorized posting of an investigative report on the Internet, Mitchell said Monday.

Morshed, who has been on paid administrative leave since Feb. 10, could not be reached Monday for comment.

The state Attorney General’s Office has agreed to conduct the investigation, said Mitchell.

The report at the center of the investigation was posted Feb. 2 on an Internet blog site devoted to unseating Mitchell, he said.

“That led to the beginning of the investigation into the breech of department records,” he said.

The posted report was part of the ongoing investigation of a former corrections officer alleged to have stolen an automatic trigger mechanism from the Sheriff’s Office armory.

Russell Wright, 37, was arrested Feb. 2 on suspicion of grand theft, embezzlement by a public officer, receiving stolen property and possession of dangerous fireworks.

Investigators were able to track down precisely when the report was copied from the Sheriff’s system and trace it to Morshed, Mitchell said.

During a warrant search of Morshed’s home, investigators also found audio and visual recording discs from a patrol vehicle, he said. Mitchell said he does not know their contents.

The investigation is the latest in a string of internal problems plaguing the Sheriff’s Office.

One of Mitchell’s opponents in the June election, Lake County Deputy Francisco Rivero, took his allegations to the television media. He’s leveled accusations of racial discrimination, cronyism and mismanagement against the department.

Mitchell also is being challenged in the election race by retired police sergeant Jack Baxter of Lakeport.

Rivero said he had nothing to do with the unauthorized posting of the report, which he said has been linked to him through innuendo, in part because Morshed is a work friend.

“It’s unfair to tar me with this brush,” Rivero said.

The department also has been tarnished with the discovery that a lieutenant, since demoted to sergeant, had been using marijuana eradication grant money to take helicopter flight lessons without authorization.

One of the most prominent of Mitchell’s problems is a case in which a Lake County chief deputy crashed his speedboat into a sailboat, killing one of its passengers.

Russell Perdock, who was off duty, was never charged with a crime, angering many area residents and boaters.

Instead, Carmichael resident Bismarck Dinius, who was at the sailboat’s tiller at the time, was charged with boating under the influence and causing great bodily injury, because he was intoxicated and allegedly failed to ensure the boat’s lights were on.

Dinius was acquitted last year and has taken steps toward filing a lawsuit.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson

@pressdemocrat.com.

Tags: ,
Posted in PACH | No Comments »